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Five Dancers Accuse City Ballet’s Peter Martins of Physical Abuse - The New York Times

posted onDecember 13, 2017
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Article snippet: In 1993, Jeffrey Edwards was a soloist with New York City Ballet when he did something radical, at least for the company: He accused Peter Martins, the powerful ballet master in chief, of verbal and physical abuse, and reported him. “I brought a complaint to the general manager, company manager and the dancers’ union, describing Peter’s conduct in detail,” Mr. Edwards said in a recent statement to The New York Times. The union, the American Guild of Musical Artists, confirmed that it had received the complaint. But to all appearances, nothing much happened. Mr. Martins continued in his role as leader of City Ballet and the School of American Ballet, and Mr. Edwards left the company shortly thereafter. The next year, Victor Ostrovsky, a 12-year-old student at the ballet school, had his own run-in with Mr. Martins. During a dress rehearsal, Mr. Ostrovsky said he was horsing around onstage with other children when Mr. Martins became enraged and grabbed him by the back of the neck in what Mr. Ostrovsky called “a death lock.” “He’s yanking me around to the left and to the right, he’s digging his left thumb and his middle finger — I felt like he was piercing my muscle,” Mr. Ostrovsky said in a telephone interview. “I started crying and sobbing profusely.” He dropped out of the school. “I was depressed; I was embarrassed,” he said. “He assaulted me onstage in front of the whole cast.” Mr. Edwards and Mr. Ostrovsky are two of five City Ballet dancers — one of whom still ... Link to the full article to read more

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